Gloves, Herbs and Rush Oh my
by Kirara-Elfkin
Summary: A budding friendship has to start somewhere...


AN: This started life as a drabble earlier this week… but as you can see it grew legs and ran away with itself… big time. So I put it up as a one-shot because really, a nearly 4000 word piece can't be called a drabble anymore. Oh, and if anyone can tell me what melaleuca oil's other name is _without_ Googling it, I'll give them a Dave shaped cookie. :3

**Gloves & Herbs and Rush (oh my)**

Hissing between gritted teeth, Rush lowered his hands gently into the steaming mixture. Behind him, he could hear Pagus shuffling about, muttering to himself about the various herbs and lotions he was sorting through, the muted clinking of small glass bottles and jars just reaching his ears.

Staring impatiently at the hourglass on the table beside him, he itched to pull his hands out of the burning mixture, but after the first telling off he'd gotten for doing that just minutes before, he decided it was best to just put up with it.

Shuddering in remembrance, Rush glanced over his shoulder at the still slightly miffed qsiti, busy browsing the myriad shelves of herbs, potions, creams and medical reagents against the far wall. Pagus could be downright scary when he was in doctor mode, regardless of his height.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Rush had never handled a weapon in his life before coming to Athlum, so he'd had no idea just how quick or easy it was to develop blisters, friction burns and a whole manner of cuts and scrapes on his hands alone from just practicing with his weapons.

The moment Pagus had caught a glimpse of his reddened, blistered fingers, he'd whisked Rush off to the healing wing of the castle, and directed him to sit at the huge stained oak table dominating the centre of the room, before disappearing into a back room in a swirl of flapping ears.

Moments later he had reappeared with a steaming bowl of some strange smelling liquid and ordered him to put his hands into it and not remove them until the sand had run out in the hourglass, which he'd plunked on the table next to him.

After the sand had stopped flowing, the elderly qsiti had taken control of Rush's hands, carefully letting the fluid out of the blisters with a sterile needle, rubbed the deflated spots briefly with yet another odd smelling solution that stung like the devil (probably calamine lotion), then liberally coated them in a funny blue paste that tingled rather pleasantly.

Finally deeming his hands appropriately treated, the qsiti general/experienced healer had wrapped his hands and wrists (to make sure he couldn't scratch under the bandages, which he was later desperate to do because of the damnable _itching_) with long swathes of clean cloth.

When he was finished wrapping them, Rush thought it looked like he was wearing huge winter mittens rather than a simple wrapping, with only the very tips of his fingers peeking out of the restrictive cloth.

Pagus, in his best general-ordering-troops-voice, had then strictly prohibited the boy from even thinking about touching any weapons until his hands were healed, and to come back to get the bandages changed in three days. Rush doubted he would even be able to get dressed with those mitts, never mind waving around a sword.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

So, to say things simply, it was now three days later and here he was again, hands unwrapped, rinsed and in another steaming bowl of some herb laden mixture, fidgeting terribly in his seat as it felt like the solution was cheerfully burning the flesh off his fingers.

After getting a reproving look from Pagus, he was resigned to being stuck here until the diminutive healer decided he was finished, and settled for staying quiet and fidgeting as little as possible, glancing around the high ceilinged room with curiosity.

It wasn't the main 'treatment' room, which had several beds, cabinets and smaller tables in it, but a back room filled floor to ceiling with shelves, seemingly filled with every medical ingredient, pre-made potion, lotion and balm in the know world. Though that might be an exaggeration on his part, maybe.

Busily trying to read what some of the labels said on the bottles nearest him, Rush was surprised when the door opened and David strode into the room, looking preoccupied.

The inquisitive teen still didn't know the young Marquis all that well, though he was determined to at least try and befriend him, despite the Old Lady's… sorry, Lady Emma's disapproving glares (Heaven knows what the old battleaxe would do to him if he ever called her that to her face, they'd probably never even find his body!).

Watching interestedly, Rush caught the moment David spotted him, stride breaking slightly, a surprised look crossing his face before being quickly hidden. Giving a brief nod of acknowledgement to the seated teen, David turned to the occupied qsiti, clearing his throat just loud enough to be heard.

"Pagus."

Turning, the qsiti blinked briefly at his Lord's sudden appearance, before extracting a large brass pocket watch from his waistcoat, flicking the lid open and checking the time. Obviously satisfied, Pagus snapped it shut before tucking it away.

"Ah yes, it's about that potion you enquired about, isn't it my boy. It was a little troublesome for me to track down the recipe, not to mention the ingredients, some of them quite rare, but that is to be expected for a potion like this, given the… unusual source of the pain it must treat."

Here, Pagus shot a quick glance at David's right eye, leaving the watching Rush more than a little mystified.

"But I think I've been able to brew a satisfactory result that should ease this particular complaint. Now, where did I… ah yes, there it is."

Hopping over to the large table, Pagus opened what looked like a small tea chest, removing a medium sized cut crystal bottle, the liquid contents shining oddly in the light, faint colours rippling within it like oil on water. After contemplating it for a moment with an almost sad expression, a softly muttered;

"Such a shame this wasn't around for your father…"

The qsiti handed it to David carefully, who cradled it with both palms before slipping it into an inner pocket of his ever present coat.

"You must take five drops at night, only five drops, once every seven days just before bed, for as long as the serum lasts. When I say before bed, I mean right before bed. Some of those ingredients are very potent, and if you are not lying down when it takes effect you may very well fall down, and we can't have that, can we? Regardless, if it seems to work, come and tell me when it's about two thirds empty and I'll have more made."

Nodding, his face looking oddly wan, David turned to leave, before pausing at the door, having caught sight of Rush's hands immersed in the filled bowl.

"Ah, Rush? What happened to your hands? Did you injure yourself?"

A little surprised at being addressed when David seemed preoccupied by other things, Rush took a moment to answer.

"Oh, um… nothing much, just practiced a bit too hard, got some scrapes is all."

Looking like he'd accepted that answer, David paused again in the act of leaving at the sound of Pagus's admonishing voice.

"Nothing much? You, young man, should have known better than to train that hard without wearing gloves of some kind. I'm sure I mention it to you when you accompanied me to Robelia castle, yet here you are with your hands in worse shape than most new army recruits from over training."

Hunching his shoulders from the telling off he was getting, he just kept his mouth shut, watching as the qsiti removed his hands from the bowl, flinching while he dried them carefully with a soft towel. Looking at them, Rush could kinda see Pagus's point. The friction burns were still quite tender, all reddened and puffy like that, and the empty blisters were starting to come away, the new skin underneath very pink and sensitive to even the smallest touch. Add to that the little nicks and cuts, and it did look pretty awful.

David, upon seeing the state his hands were in, drifted back towards the table, concerned despite himself.

"Rush, have you never had training with a weapon before now? Surely there are at least some creatures worth defending from on Eulam, for as far as I'm aware it's quite a large island?"

Shaking his head, Rush flinched again as Pagus started inspecting his hands, muttering to himself about which treatment would work best.

"Nope, there's no critters like the ones you have on the mainland, Eulam's special like that. No dangerous animals live there at all, and none of 'em go there from the mainland either, even though it's not that far away. It's weird, but it's why my parents left me and my sis there when they had to leave to do work for the Academy. They could be gone for months at a time, and often were, so they needed a safe place to leave us. Because of the animal thing, there's no need to learn how to fight, and no one to teach people even if they wanted to learn."

Finding the young man's admission quite interesting, (and a little concerning) David found himself wanting to question Rush more, surprisingly at ease in his presence. He hadn't had much interaction with people his own age since before his mother died, and Rush's open, honest and friendly personality was certainly a refreshing change from the political manoeuvring and false niceties between court nobles that he usually had to put up with.

"Hmm, healing faster than I expected… interesting… Yes, I think that should do the trick, wait one moment while I find it…"

Pagus had apparently finished inspecting Rush's hands and decided on which unguent to use on them this time, hopping back to scour the towering shelves for what he wanted.

Appearing back at the table a moment later, the qsiti placed a large squat jar on the table, undoing the metal clips that kept the lid airtight. The thick looking ointment within the jar was a pale green in colour, the scent a fresh, sweet herby mix.

"Mm, nice smell at least, what is it, and what's in it? I thought you'd just use that tingly blue stuff from before."

Pursing his lips at Rush's less than tactful word choice, Pagus just sighed and humoured the boy, just spotting the slightest quirk of David's lips out of the corner of his eye.

"It's a curative ointment, or salve if you prefer, to help heal your hands. The 'blue stuff' as you put it, would be far too strong now, as you've healed much more quickly than I'd anticipated. This ointment is a mixture of allantoin, diluted melaleuca oil, calendula and lavender oil, among many other things."

David was expecting Rush to look confused by this list of ingredients, as he himself was feeling, but curiously he was nodding thoughtfully, looking quite interested. Then, to his utmost surprise, Rush replied in a way he hadn't expected at all, sounding like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Good mix… allantoin, yeah, I've heard of that, that'd be for the soothing effect, and to help heal, wouldn't it? The melaleuca oil… would be for stopping infection, the lavender would help with that too, and reduce some of the redness and puffiness. The calendula would be more of the same, soothing the skin and stopping swelling…"

Petering off into silence, Rush blushed a wonderful rosy red under the combined looks of shock (from Dave) and surprised admiration (from Pagus). Ducking his head in sudden embarrassment he _felt_ his face heat up, and cursed his pale skin for the umpteenth time. Looking very interested, Pagus began smoothing the ointment onto the teen's hands, glancing between his face and his work every few seconds.

"That was very nicely explained Rush Sykes! I never knew you were educated in herbal lore, did your parents teach you by chance? I wouldn't have expected their work with Remnants to have included anything like that."

Heat still suffusing his cheeks, though less now from embarrassment and more from the appraising glances shot his way by David, the teen answered.

"My parents didn't teach me, no. I helped part time at the local apothecary, and the lady that runs it taught me. She grows all kinds of plants in these big greenhouses, and the stuff I learned helped when Irina got sick and my parents weren't there."

"It's still very impressive that you learned even some of that, normally it takes years to successfully memorize the range of plants that your knowledge suggests you can remember."

Fidgeting in his seat, Rush stayed silent, watching as the qsiti searched for the bandages he'd put on the table, only for David to pass them to him a moment later.

"There, all done. Give it another three days before you come back, and if you heal at the same rate as you've been doing the past few days, you should only need a lotion after that, rather than all these wrappings."

Tying off the cloth around his wrist, Pagus patted his arm briefly, before shooing both boys gently out of the healing wing, looking decidedly cheerful. Just before he closed the door in their faces, he sent a _look_ at a bemused David.

"Now my Lord, don't forget to take those drops, five of them only to be taken right before bed, and only every seven days."

With that, the qsiti disappeared back into the healing wing, leaving the two teens standing in the corridor, a slightly awkward silence permeating the air. Sighing softly, Rush held up his bandaged hands to inspect them.

"Well, at least they don't look like oven mitts this time, though I still can't move my fingers."

That got a slight chuckle from the young Lord, who was still looking at him with a rather thoughtful expression, before speaking quite suddenly.

"Pagus was right you know, it is quite an accomplishment to know that much about the useful properties of plants. I've known Pagus since I was small, he's been my personal physician as well as my trusted General since… well, for a number of years, yet the only plant I knew the purpose of was the lavender. It is nothing to be ashamed of, indeed, it's something to be proud of."

Blinking in surprise at the softer, more personal tone Dave was using, Rush found himself feeling marginally less embarrassed, just enough so that he cracked a smile.

"Heh, I guess you're right, it is kinda useful stuff to know after all, 'specially if you're stuck without supplies. Thanks Dave."

Clapping the older boy on the shoulder without thinking about it, Rush winced when his hand gave a warning throb. One eyebrow arched elegantly, David eyed his wrapped hands.

"Perhaps once you are healed you should think about getting gloves of some sort, before you practice that hard again. Without the wear and tear from years of training your skin is just too soft, and it could take months to for your hands to adjust without any protection. You really should think about it for future battles."

Despite not liking it, Rush reluctantly agreed with Dave's suggestion. The problem was where he'd get good enough gloves at a price he could afford.

Yes his parents were wealthy, but he hadn't thought to bring more money than the amount he paid the boatman to cross to the mainland. He had been in too much of a hurry to even bring a change of clothes, never mind anything else, which admittedly, was rather stupid. Maybe he could get a part time job at the Warrior's Honour, or help out Baulson again…

Seeing the faint look of apprehension on Rush's face left David pondering why, until he took in the teen standing awkwardly before him. Wearing borrowed clothes and worn boots he didn't exactly look like the son of well off scientists, and when he'd come back to Athlum with them after that first meeting, he only had the clothes on his back and the sword he'd found.

"Ah, that's why… well, I had better get changed for dinner, or Emma will chastise me for missing another meal. Hopefully your hands will feel better soon. Will I be seeing you at dinner, or will you be taking a private meal?"

Getting a slightly incredulous look at that, Rush glanced obviously between the thick bandages and David's own unblemished appendages.

"What, and let you all see me fumbling with the cutlery? Nah, I think I'll take it in my room, that way Torgal won't shoot me those evil looks of his when I just drink the soup from the bowl."

Stifling a rather undignified snort of laughter at the mental image that conjured, David pretended to rub his nose, conveniently hiding the grin hovering around his lips.

"Yes, ah, that might be wise. Torgal can look… remarkably like a deeply offended house cat when annoyed, puffed up fur and all… though you never heard that from me, of course."

Giving the now snickering teen a mock serious glare, which got a fresh burst of almost-giggles, David just sighed and told Rush he would alert the cook of his dining choice, before striding off in the direction of his own suite.

Rush, his mind too full with images of Torgal the house cat throwing a hissy fit, barely heard him go, rapidly loosing his battle with full out howls of laughter at the thought of the uptight Sovani General rolling about in catnip or chasing a ball of yarn. The situation wasn't helped when Torgal himself appeared round the corner, ears laid flat and scowling up a storm. Suffice to say, the encounter didn't end well.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A week after that, and free of any restrictive bandages, Rush had just come back from a shift at the Warriors Arms, only to see a pair of soldiers bearing a foreign crest leaving the meeting hall. Hurrying inside, he was interested to see David and all four Generals talking quietly around the throne. Glancing up, David spotted him first.

"You're here, good. Some new information has come to light that you might be interested in..."

ooooooooooooooooo

After dismissing Blocter, Torgal and Pagus to prepare for tomorrows departure for Blackdale, David walked down to Rush, a little secretive glimmer in his eye.

"Ah, Emma, would you could please fetch what's on the table in the anteroom for me?"

Not batting an eyelash at the request, Emma vanished into a small side room.

"Rush, in light of the upcoming battles, and the possible dangers awaiting us in Blackdale, I thought it prudent to ensure you were adequately equipped for such fights."

Emma returned to the hall a moment later carrying a folder piece of leather, with a carved metal shoulder guard sitting on top. Taking it from her, Rush discovered it was a jacket, the leather thick and luxuriant between his fingers.

There were crisscrossing strips of what looked to be dragon-hide, reinforcing the garment, and from the feel of it, there were metal plates hidden between the layers of leather. Speechless, wondering just how much something this well made would have cost, he looked up at David, who gestured for him to put it on.

Marvelling at the perfect fit, he did up the straps, fingering the high collar with it's carved brass plates. Taking the shoulder guard from Emma (who told him it was called a pauldron) he admired the carved rams head standing in relief on the shining metal, before admitting he had no clue how to put it on.

"Why is it just the one shoulder guard... sorry, pauldron?"

Fidgeting while Emma buckled it into place, Rush received a slap on the arm and a stern glare. Looking amused, Dave explained.

"Since you are not used to fighting, you need all the protection you can get, however you're not strong enough to fight with full plate, scale or chainmail armour, hence the more lightweight leather. Since it isn't as strong, I commissioned that pauldron for your left shoulder. I could have given you two, yes, but pauldrons can restrict the movement of your arms, which could be deadly in a fight. As you're right handed you'll be wielding any blades with your right hand, hence the need for greater mobility."

Nodding at the slightly long winded explanation, Rush tried to escape Emma's fussing, waiting until she'd finished redoing the buckles of the jacket and straightening his top, before squirming free and hiding behind David, who looked quite serene despite the mutinous glares passing between the other two.

"That's all Emma, you may go and prepare now."

Giving a sigh of relief as she swept out of the hall, Rush slumped against David's shoulder, not noticing the odd expression cross his face as he did so.

"That woman must be a mother, she's too fearsomely maternal not to be. She's got that I-know-what's-best-now-don't-argue glare down pat! Though I pity the kid, she's scary even when she's not annoyed!"

Noticing the slightly discomfited look on David's face, he moved away a step.

"Ah, sorry Dave. Forgot myself there."

Shaking his head slightly, David just folded his hands.

"It's alright, I just wasn't expecting it. You are right however, Emma does have a child, a daughter, though she is a grown woman in her own right now."

Tugging at the bottom of the jacket, Rush suddenly looked up, face earnest.

"Listen, Dave, thanks for the jacket, it's gorgeous. I really need to thank you for the other things you've done for me too, giving me a room in the castle, helping me find my sister, heck, even listening to me in the first place. I don't have any way to repay you right now though…"

Holding up a hand to forestall any more words, David just gave him an understanding smile.

"It's alright Rush, you don't need to repay me, for any of it. I chose to help you, and I chose to make sure you were properly outfitted for battle. It's meant to be gift, take it as such."

Pausing as though he'd just remembered something, David reached inside his coat, extracting what looked like gloves.

"On that note, there is something else I'd like to give you. The only thing I ask in exchange is that you don't train or fight without them, to avoid any more visits to Pagus about your hands. Is that acceptable?"

Handing over the gloves, David watched with silent pleasure as Rush tried them on, feeling the thick, supple material.

"They are made from dragonet hide, abelisk from what I know, so they should last for some time."

Loving the feel of the soft material against his fingers, Rush pivoted on the balls of his feet, before bouncing up to David and giving him a quick hug.

David looked shocked at the action, while Rush just grinned brightly in response.

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